Floor construction



Dec. 30, 1930. H.' G, EISLER 1,787,067

FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 19. 1929 Henry' E. Eisler l 35 invention.-

Patented Dec. 30,v 1930 'HENRY e.' erstma' orAwILMnTTr-i, ILLINOIS FLOORCONSTBIUC'IIIONPk v Application iled January 19, 1929.` Serial No.333,724.

` My invention relates in general to improvements in Hoor construction,and the object of the invention, generally stated, r is to provide asound-prooi ioor which is particularly 5 desirable for apartmentbuildings andother places where rooms must be insulated against noisesproduced on the i'loor above.y

A feature of the inventionJis a floor 'construction comprising the usualsub-'hoor and hnished floor, together with means for preventing thetransmission ot sound vibrations from the finished iioor to thesub-floor and thence to the ceiling of the room below. This isaccomplished' in a practical and eiiicient i manner and withoutresorting to radical changes in generall designv which might'beobjectionable to architects and contractors` An ancillary feature is anew and improved nailing strip or sleeper intended to be manu- '20factured and sold for use in building soundproof floors. Thevforeg'oing'and other features of the invention will be fully described hereinafter,reference being 4had to the accompanying drawing, in which: l

Fig. 1 showsa section of a iioor embodying the invention Fig. 2 is anenlarged section taken on the line 2;-2, Fig. l;vl` Figs 3 and 4 are topand bottom views, respectively, of my improved nailing strip or sleeper;while V Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. `2"'excep`t that itshows amodication of the 4 Referring to Fig. l, the reference numeral 3indicates a portion of a licor joist. The floor joi'sts, as is wellunderstood, 'extend transversely across the building, spaced perhaps 16inches apart.- The drawing, Fig. l, is iragmentary,v and shows only asmall portion oione'vjoist. The reference character 4 'indicates thesub-floor, generally made of rough lumber laid directly on the joistsand nailed thereto'.l

In order to support the finished iloor, so called nailing strips orsleepers are provided.

These are laid on the sub-iloonpre'ferably directly over -the -joists.The drawing-shows a portion of onenailng strip 5, and a section ofnnishedeooring e.' kThe nailing Strips lmay be about`2 x 2 inches incross section, Vor

somewhat smaller, depending on how much space is required for the layingof conduit.

As will shortly appear, the nailing strips are of anA improvedconstruction and form a principal part ofmy invention.

rOne nailing stripis shown in Figs. 3' an 4.H Fig. 3is'a top view, whileFig. 4 shows the lower side with sound insulators in place. As statedbefore 2 x 2 inch material may be used, out to standard lengths, 10 ork12 feet, or longer. Each strip isjbored and counterbored as shown inFigs. 3 and 2, the holes being spaced on l-inch centers. The spacingmay, of course, be varied and a closer spacingshould be used in the caseof nailing strips which are to form part of a Hoor subject to heavystrains. 'K n l The holes in the nailing strips are provided toaccommodate my improved soundproofing means, which `will now beexplained, reterence'being had especially to Figs. 4 and 2. As shown inFig. 4, each hole in a nailing strip has inserted therein a cushioninginember 7, of sound-proofmaterial.- The members constitute sound orvibration insulators.

lOne of the insulators 7 is shown quite clearly j half way through thenailing strip. Accom- :panying each insul'atorf7`is a washer-8, alsocomposed lof vibration yinsulating material. The washers S'are of theproper size tolit snuglyV inthe recesseswhich have been formed in theupper ysur'faceof the nailing strip by the counter-boring operation.

The cushioningmembers or insulators 7 and ythe washers 8 may be made ofvarious sound-proof materials. vI prefer, however, to use a good lgradeof rubber, what is known as tire tread stock, and form the parts byvulcanizing in molds. The parts thus formed are inexpensive, areconvenient to handle, and atthe same time they form' an idealcushioningmeans for preventing the transmission of sound vibrations.

In building a floor embodying my improved sound-proofing means, thesub-floor is laid in the usual manner, When the carpenter Will be readyto proceed With the nailing strips. These may be nailed down to thesub-door, oifie'fover each joifst; The process lof laying my improvednailing stripV is not especially complicated, but it may, nevertheless,be briefly explained. ',Afternialin'g certain that an insulator 7 isinserted in each of the holes, the strip is placed in vtlielproperYposition on the sub-floor, as indicated in Fig.

1. The Washers 8 may-now be placed inthe recesses on top of the strip,if tlieyhave not ,previously been inserted. y The strip may now benailed down, one nail being used at each point Where an insulator islocated. Before V driving a nail, care should be'talren to thread on aniron vva'sher such as 9. The nail may then :be passed throughtlie'central openings in the Washer and insulator and drivenliorne intothe sub-floor, as indicated 1n Fig. 2.

vEach nail should be 'driven i'n -tiglit enough to slightly compress theassociated Washer 8. The nailing strips 'hav-ing all been placed asdescribed in the foregoing,the job is vready i for the finishedflooring, which is laid on the nailing strips and nailed doivn piece lbypiece in 'the usual manner.

The completed floor is proof against the transmission of soundvibrations because the inished floor and the nailing strips 'to- Whichit is attached are -fully insulated 'from the sub-licor. The entireWeight of the upper floor and objects'supported'on it is carried by theinsulators 7, Which form the principal insulating' means. The nails suchas 10, which secure the nailing strips to the subfloor and Which Wouldhave a tendency to conduct vibrations through to the sub-floor, are'prevented from-having this undesirable effect bythe Washers 8. Thus, asstated, the

'finislied'loorand nailing strips are-entirely insulated, even tho-iighthe latter are securely nailed to the sub-floor. Y

In carrying out my invention, I lcontemplate fabricatingthe nailingstrips at a Wood working mill, Wlier'ethe'y can be conveniently boredand counter-bored by machinery, and ,put up in bundles for sale 4to thetrade. The i'iaili'ng stripsrmay be put ont fully lequipped rwith-insulators 7 and Washers 8 all assembled i `in'place if desired. AThisenables the-nailing :strips to be nplaced AWith-a yminimum 'ofex-tralabor infact, if 'furnished complete the nail- `ingstrips can belaidpraetically as :fast as plain uni-nsulated-strips.

lil

Fig. v'5 shows afmodification ofthe 'invention `vvhich'is desir-ableunder certainconditions. The p arts shown iniFig. 5 correspond generallyto those shown inFigfQ. and-.hence .anrextended description Will not benecessary. Itfm-aybe J.pointed .-out, however, .that

the insulator 7 ofFig. 2 is replaced by an insulating member 17 in whichthe shank portion is omitted, While the insulating Washer 8 is replacedby an insulator 18 which is provided with a shank. In other Words, theshank portion, which positively separates the nail from the sides of theopening, ismoved 4from the .lower-t0 theupper insulator. Insulators suchas 8 can be used along with the ii'isul'ators 17, but more care has tobe exercisedin 'driving theiiails accurately.

desireto includey and'have protected b y Let-v tei's Patent all `formsof my invention which come Withinthe scope ofthe appended claims. fAWhat isclaimed ,-is: Y l

1. The combination, with afnailingstrip,

of means for 'insulatingesaid strip from the sub-floor and for attachingsaid strip to the sub-floor, said .means comprising a perforatedinsulator,lying'between.the stri `andthe sub-floor and having aportionemEedd'ed in theV strip,: a perforated .insulating Washerembeddedin the said strip near the upper surfacefthereof, and a nail passingthrough the perforations in said Washer and lsaid insulator anddriven'into the sub-floor.

2. 'floor construction coinprising a subfloor, nailing* strips laidonsaid sub-floor, a vseries of spaced vibration insulators insertedbetween each nailing-strip .and the sub-floor, securing devicesextending through each nailing strip to the sub-floor at `.the points-Where said vinsulators are located, .means for Vinsulating said devicesfrom thenailing strips,

Y and a top'ioor laid on said nailing strips.

3*.v .A floorl .construction A"comprising asubfloor, nailing stripshaving openings therein, nails having insulated heads Lpassing throughsaid openings and driven Ainto the sub-floor, an insulator concentricwith each `nail and Vpositioned between the associated nailingr strip`and *the sub-floor, and a top floor laid on said .nailing strips. u

t. As an article ofrn'anufacturda nailing strip having a series of yholes extending through it 'from top to bottom, lsaid :holes beingcounter-bored to form recesses VVonthef- .top side of 4saidst'rip,insulating Washers inserted in said recesses, and :supportingvinsulators having cylindrical rShanks 'inserted '1n said. holeson thebottomof said-strip.

Y 5.`'lr`he combination, fvvith fa 'nailing .strip adapted to be nailedto a Support, of an insulator, said insulator comprising a baseportionfor supporting'the nailing strip and a shank portion adapted to encirclea nail and insulate it from the strip.

6. The combination, with a nailing strip having holes therein throughwhich nails may be driven to attach the strip to a support, of a pair ofbushings Jfor each hole to insulate the Strip from the nails, onebushing of each pair serving also as a support for the strip.

HENRY G. EISLER.

